


Do You Ever Wish That Was Us?

by prideandfangirling



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: Dreams, F/M, Weddings, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-28
Updated: 2014-01-27
Packaged: 2018-01-10 08:10:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1157195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prideandfangirling/pseuds/prideandfangirling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reposted from FF. Danny's feelings have always been a bit obvious but what about Mindy and her feelings about Danny? Maybe she just needs a little push or a reminder to just say yes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reposting this from my FF account so if it seems familiar, it is! My work is unbeta'd so all errors are my fault and I'm sorry for the really awkward summaries. I'm still debating on putting up an epilogue so that's why it's 4/? but I promise that the story is done, even if it seems a little short and rushed at the end. Thanks for reading and being lovely! xo

"Do you ever wish that was us?"

Danny turns towards Mindy, who is staring at the television in the lounge.

"You mean do I wish we were Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks? Nah. I mean, look at them," Danny points his water bottle towards the screen. "They never got along when they were in person but when they e-mailed each other they were fine? It's completely unbelievable so no, I don't wish that was us."

Mindy rolls her eyes at Danny's reply but doesn't turn her head away from the last scene in the movie. "I meant don't you wish you had that perfect significant other and an amazing back story of how you got together with them to tell your grandkids? Of how you and your wife hated each other and then gradually became friends and one day you woke up to realize you were actually in love and then lived happily ever after? You don't want that, Danny?"

It's only been a few weeks since the Christmas party and hearing her talk about two people who originally didn't get along only to realize they loved each other causes a tightness in his chest and Danny silently acknowledges the similarities towards the movie characters and, well, him and Mindy. The credits begin to roll so he leans over to grab the remote off the table and begins to channel surf until he finds an episode of "Ghost Hunters." He sighs and looks at Mindy in her glasses and light blue scrubs and wonders if she's ever going to realize there could be something between them or if he's going to wake up one day and finally decide that enough is enough.

"Danny!"

"What? Oh come on, the credits were playing! It's not like you missed anything and besides this is the third time we've seen it this month and it's not even halfway through January!"

"Ugh! I was asking you a question and I'm still waiting for the answer so don't think you can get out of it by changing it to this creepy show," Mindy says as she stretches out on the couch and throws her legs on top of Danny's lap. "Don't you want to find true love?"

Danny moves his hands from beneath her legs and places on top, absentmindedly rubbing his thumb over her shin. "I guess. I did the married thing already so I'm not in a hurry to go through it again. I mean if there was a special woman in my life I suppose I would change my mind but until then I'm fine."

"Yeah and you're making pancakes the morning after for hookups. Sure you're fine, Danny."

"I told you I'm Italian! I've made you breakfast and we've never hooked up." He feels his chest tightening again and fiddles with the cap on his water before taking a long drink. After screwing the cap back on Danny makes sure to keep both hands on the bottle to make sure he doesn't end up rubbing Min's leg again.  _Friends don't do that_ , he reminds himself.

"Whatever, dude. 'The best part of believe is the lie' so you keep telling yourself that. Also can I come over after this shift is done because I am seriously craving some of those cannolis you brought in last week. I think you used cocaine instead of powdered sugar."

The beepers on the table begin to vibrate and the two friends sigh before getting off the couch.

"Yeah, sure, Min. That's fine. Looks like it'll be an early night anyway. I'll wait for you."

* * *

"Good morning, Dr. Lahiri! I love your dress! It makes me want to go watch 'Doctor Who' or maybe 'The Magic School Bus' because you look like a hot Hindu version of the teacher," Betsy compliments as she picks up some patient files to organize.

Mindy smiles at the receptionist and does a small twirl to show off her galaxy print dress. "Thank you, Betsy! I had to fight a woman with three children for this dress. She kept saying she home schools her kids and could teach them the solar system but I ended up winning!" She pulls on the sleeves of her goldenrod colored sweater and nods towards the hallway. "You haven't seen Cliff have you? He's been like a ghost since I broke things off with him last weekend because he was way too clingy. I think he might have trust issues. Whatever. Not my problem."

Peter pops his head out from the break room and lets out a low whistle. "Did I hear right, Dr. L? You broke things off with the lawyer dude? I thought you wanted to make mocha colored babies with him somethin' awful?"

"Eh, you know how it goes being a super attractive doctor and all. I need someone who knows guys are always going to be staring at me but that my heart belongs to just one person. That and when he's looking at my phone more than I look at his it's just annoying."

Peter turns his head into the break room and whispers something before coming out and fist bumping Mindy. "Well I'm pretty proud of you, girlfriend. You rock on. Maybe you'll find your Darcy man soon enough. You know who has a name that's similar to Darcy's? Like they're so close except for only two itty bitty little letters. It's Da-"

"Peter! Morgan just opened the window trying to call Owley back into the building can you come help me with this, please?" Danny bursts out from the break room. "Morning, Min."

Snickering Peter starts to head back into the break room. "Well. You'll find him eventually, Dr. L. No worries." Turning towards Danny he calls out "Did Morgan grab the dead mouse from his desk or is he trying to use peanut butter crackers?"

"What a bunch of randos," mutters Mindy while raising an eyebrow in their direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Mindy's heels click as she walks into Danny's office, without knocking. "Danny! Are we going to lunch or what? My next patient isn't for an hour and a half so I figure we have time to go grab some sushi from that place you like. Wait, why aren't you putting on your coat? I thought we had a lunch date."

"Emergency appointment," Danny says, shrugging apologetically. "Dr. Tyler just up and left her practice so now I have a client who is eight months along and needs an OB/GYN as soon as possible. Jeremy and Peter are already handling a few of the others who are in their third trimester so you don't have to. We figured after your breakup you might need some time off to deal with it so we took on the extra work so you didn't have to."

"Seriously?" Mindy smiles at Danny while using her fingers to brush the ends of her hair. "That's kind of sweet! I'll go ahead and grab you guys some lunch as my way to say thank you. You want your regular order?"

Shaking his head Danny stretches his arms over his head. "Nah, I was thinking something a little bit more risky today than the same old roll."

"So you want the Philadelphia roll instead of the California then?"

"Yup," he says, giving Mindy a lopsided grin. "You know me so well."

"Whatever. You're my best friend; it would be kind of weird if I didn't know what you liked to eat."

The grin becomes a full fledge smile now. "Best friend? I'm your best friend?"

"Ugh, stop it. Why do you have to be such a girl, Danny? Of course you're my best friend. You hover somewhere between first and second tier, which is pretty damn good if I do say so myself. Why?" Mindy gets a panicked look on her face. "Am I not your friend? I don't have to be best friend status with you but I thought after everything that we were at least friends but I mean if we're not-"

Putting his hands up Danny interrupts Mindy's rush of words, "Of course we're friends, Min. Why would you think we wouldn't be?"

Visibly letting out a sigh of relief Mindy begins to smile again. "I get a little paranoid now and then after the Alex thing, that's all. With Gwen being so busy lately it's really great to be able to depend on someone, you know? Anyway, let me go see what the rest of the office wants and I'll head on out."

"Hey, Min?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my best friend as well."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Thanks, Danny," the smile on her face rivaling the one on his.

* * *

Mindy comes back an hour later, laden with bags filled with Styrofoam containers and begins setting up lunch in the break room for the office. She gets to the last container that holds Danny's Philadelphia roll and starts thinking about their conversation before she had left earlier. She's probably considered Danny being her best friend for at least a few months now, especially after her Christmas gift, but today was the first time she ever said the words out loud. And in front of Danny.

_Jeremy and Peter told me that Danny was the one who suggested taking the extra appointments so I could have a little bit more extra time to myself. He's the only one who kept writing to me while I was in Haiti and he has always been there after my breakups with all those douches. Why wouldn't I call him my best friend? He's been a better friend to me than my boyfriends have._

Mindy's brown eyes grow wide as she realizes what she just thought of.  _Danny's basically been my boyfriend without all the official pet names and sex. Why hadn't I thought of that before? God, why haven't I thought about Danny in that way? I mean, for an old guy he's pretty handsome. Okay, okay, he's not that old and I should probably give him a break about that because he's apologized a million times of how much of a jerk he used to be so I shouldn't be a jerk to him either._  She hears his voice coming from the hall and sees him walking with his patient towards the elevator. The tall blonde is clearly in her last trimester of pregnancy but that doesn't stop her from flipping her hair over her shoulder and giving light touches to Danny's arm. He cracks a joke and she takes the opportunity to throw her head back, showing off her brilliant white smile. Grabbing Danny's arm she winks at him before getting on the elevator, waving goodbye as the doors close.  _Because he would never see me in that way, that's why. I could never compete with a pregnant woman who weighs less than what I do as a nonpregnant female, let alone any other female. Whatever. We're just friends. Just friends._

A couple hours after lunch, while sitting at her desk, Mindy feels a wave of nausea roll over her. She takes a moment to try and collect herself before she feels her sashimi lunch attempt to leave her stomach, leaving her no choice but to clamp a hand over her mouth, wondering if she should just use her trash can or if she could make it to the toilets in time.

Trash can it is.

Betsy is the first one to hear the retching from Mindy's office and she hurries in to see what's going on. "Dr. Lahiri? Oh gosh, Dr. Lahiri! Are you alright?"

Pausing to look at Betsy from over the edge of the trash can Mindy pants out, "Does it look like I'm alright? Oh god. I'm so sorry. No one should have to deal with this."

"Do you want water or maybe some crackers?" Betsy briefly looks away when Mindy heaves into the trash at the mention of the crackers. "Maybe not. You can't stay here sick, Dr. Lahiri. Do you want me to call someone to come get you and take you home? Is Rishi in town? I can call him if he is."

"Is Danny busy?"

"Dr. Castellano? No, I don't think so. He has one last appointment for the day and then he'll be done I think. Hold on, okay? I'll be right back!"

"Ughh, stupid fucking sashimi. What did I ever do to these fish for them to do this to me?"

Danny enters the office with a worried look on his face, immediately coming behind Mindy's desk and holding her hair back. Betsy soon follows with a bottle of water and a wet washcloth for Mindy, gently offering the water for Mindy to sip on.

"Jeremy is going to take my appointment and I'm going to take you home. Betsy, hand me that washcloth, will ya please? Thanks. And could you get me a cab and a trash bag for Mindy?"

Betsy nods quickly. "No problem, Dr. Castellano. I think Morgan has some motion sickness bags leftover from Santa Fe actually. I'll be right back."

Danny takes the wash cloth and presses it to the back of Mindy's neck. "You gonna make it home alright?"

"No. I'm going to die in this office, Danny. This is horrible, oh my god-"

"Shh," he soothes. "I've seen you in way worse situations. You're going to be fine. We're going to get you home, tucked into bed, and you're going to sleep this off, okay? Do you have Gatorade or ginger ale at the apartment?"

"Do I look like the type of person who has ginger ale? Only old people have ginger ale in their refrigerator. " Mindy pauses for a second before groaning. "I bought a six pack last month to mix with white cranberry juice and vodka for Girl's Night, ugh. I'm an old person. Stop laughing at me!"

"Dr. Castellano? The cab is here. Do you need help with Dr. Lahiri?"

Danny stands up first, putting his hand out for Mindy to grab onto. "No, I think I've got it Betsy. I'll take the trash can with me and chuck it outside in the dumpster so you don't have to worry about cleaning up." He grabs Mindy's coat and helps her into it before putting one arm around her waist, the other holding the offending trash can. "Come on, Min. Grab the bags from Betsy and we'll be on our way home."

* * *

The cab ride was relatively uneventful and Mindy only used the bags once, which was more than enough for the cab driver who made them throw out the offending bag when they were stopped at a red light. Danny grumbled for the rest of the trip to Mindy's apartment but she saw him give the driver a generous tip for his troubles before helping her through the lobby towards the elevators.

"Oh, god," Mindy moans, grabbing the side of the elevator at the initial jolt. "Maybe we should have taken the stairs."

"It's only a couple floors, we're almost there. See? We're here already. Do you have your keys?"

As soon as they enter the apartment Mindy runs to the bathroom but, thankfully, the worst seems to have passed so she drags herself up from the floor and towards the sink where she rinses her mouth out. After removing her contacts she washes her face and stumbles to her bedroom to find some sweatpants and a baggy shirt before realizing Danny isn't with her.

"Danny?"

He peeks around the doorframe, a worried look on his face. "You alright?"

"Yeah, no, I'm fine. I was just wondering where you were."

He comes into the bedroom, placing a can of ginger ale and a small cup of ice on Mindy's nightstand. "I was just getting you some stuff. You have to stay hydrated and all. You've lost a lot of fluids and you'll probably lose some more before you're completely better. Might want to take it easy though, at least at first. Don't need you to get sick all over again." Danny drags his hand through his hair, feeling awkward about standing in Mindy's room for some reason.  _What is wrong with me? She's wearing a hoodie with more holes than Swiss cheese and she's got food poisoning, Castellano. Snap out of it. This is nothing to get worked up about._  "I guess I'll be going now. You're home and in bed so uh, yeah, I'll be going now. Call if you need anything, okay, Min?"

"What? You're leaving?" Mindy hadn't realized she expected him to stay with her but she didn't like the idea of him not being with her. "Can't you stay for a little bit? Just one movie!"

Danny smiles that lopsided grin of his, slightly unsure about staying but secretly thrilled about it. "You want me to stay?"

"When I was younger and got sick my mom would take care of me and we would watch movies together. It was one of the few times she would watch romance movies with me and not judge me or tell me I should be studying instead."

"So you're comparing me to your mother?"

"No! Besides, you're not old enough to be my parent and I'm sorry I give you such a hard time about your age when you're not that much older than me anyway. So will you stay? We can go into the living room if it makes you feel less like a parent."

"Nah, here's fine as long as you don't throw up on me. Deal?"

"Deal."

As Danny shrugs off his leather jacket and kicks off his shoes, Mindy goes into the living room and grabs a copy of "Love Actually" and a pack of saltine crackers, just in case her stomach can handle it later. Once she's back in the bedroom she sees Danny on her bed rolling up the sleeves of his gray button down and becomes distracted by his arms.  _I forget he goes to the gym whenever we don't have lunch or if he can switch up his appointments for a early or late workout session. Man, the rest has to look good if his arms can do that to me. Oh god, what am I doing?_ She shakes her head, pops the movie in, and climbs back into bed next to Danny.

"Seriously? It's not even Christmas anymore!"

"Shh. Colin Firth is on."

* * *

When Mindy opens her eyes it's already dark outside, the only illumination coming from the lamp next to Danny and the tablet he's balancing on his lap. He's wearing headphones and hasn't realized she's awoken so she takes a private moment to check out his profile.

"What are you listening to?"

"Don't you ever wake up like a normal person? You know, stir around and stretch before properly waking up?" startled at the sound of Mindy's voice.

"Whatever. What are you listening to?" she repeats.

He unplugs his headphones from the tablet and turns the volume up a bit. "Bob Dylan."

 

  
_"When the evening shadows and the stars appear,_   
_And there is no one there to dry your tears,_   
_I could hold you for a million years,_   
_To make you feel my love._

  
_I know you haven't made your mind up yet,_   
_But I would never do you wrong,_   
_I've known it from the moment that we met,_   
_No doubt in my mind where you belong"_

"He covered the Adele song?"

"What? No! What's the matter with you?"

"I like her version better. How long was I asleep for?"

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Hour or so? Not long. How are you feeling?" placing a hand over her forehead. "You're a little warm still."

Mindy stretches for a moment before pulling herself into a sitting position. "My stomach feels like I've been doing ab workouts for three days while eating a maximum of 50 calories a day but I don't feel like I need to regurgitate my major organs. Thanks for staying, Danny. I hope I haven't ruined your evening."

"Nah. I mean, I was going to go workout and then watch a documentary but that can wait. I wanted to make sure you were okay more than anything. You want me to go get anything for you?"

_He looks so concerned. I don't even think Casey was this worried when I had to be flown back from Haiti and I just have stupid food poisoning this time._ Mindy shakes her head no. "The last thing I remember was Kiera Knightley finding out that the guy from 'The Walking Dead' was in love with her. Did you seriously stay this entire time?"

Danny feels the hot telltale sign of a blush appearing on his cheeks and clears his throat before answering. "Maybe. I mean, the unrequited love story and Colin Firth's story are the best one in the entire movie. You can't really blame me for watching can you? Besides, I had to keep an eye on you remember?"

"You're a total hopeless romantic and yet you give  _me_  shit for my movies? Oh my god! I can't believe you!" Mindy begins to laugh but ends up clutching her sore stomach instead. "Ow. It hurts to laugh and I have to laugh at you in this very moment. You know I'm never letting you live this down right?"

"No,' Danny sighs. "I know you won't. But romance in the movies is so different from romance in real life. I am a realistic romantic; you're the hopeless one."

"Says the guy who has some dudes covering Adele's 'Love Song' playing right now?"

 

_"Whenever I'm alone with you_   
_You make me feel like I am young again_   
_Whenever I'm alone with you_   
_You make me feel like I am fun again_

_However far away, I will always love you_   
_However long I stay, I will always love you_   
_Whatever words I say, I will always love you_   
_I will always love you"_

"What? No! This is 311's cover of The Cure. What did you even learn growing up?"

"I learned enough thank you very much. We've had this discussion before. Are you hungry? I could see what's in the fridge or order takeout for you as thanks. For the second time today. If you don't have anywhere to go I mean," Mindy rushes out. "I appreciate everything but I really don't want to be keeping you from living your life, even if for just one night. I'll probably call in sick tomorrow to work so my sense of time is even more off than usual."

He swipes a few things around on his tablet before glancing over at his sickly coworker. "I'll stay as long as you need me, Min. Don't worry about me. Are you sure you don't want me to go get something for you? Gatorade? Bread? Magazines? I can run and grab some food for me and your stuff at the same time, that way you don't have to feel guilty about anything."

"Blue Gatorade? And a trashy gossip magazine or two? But not anything with the Teen Moms on it; now that their kids are older they're pointless to read about."

Danny places the tablet on the nightstand before getting up and looking around for his shoes and jacket. "I'll be back soon. Sure you don't want anything else before I go? I'm not answering your texts or phone calls unless it's an actual emergency. You wanting rainbow sherbet gum will not be considered an emergency. I don't care how sick you are," he warns.

"No, that's it. Promise. Can you leave your music playing though? I'm digging the Adele covers," she teases.

"They're not Adele covers- yeah that's fine. And don't think you can crack the security code on it either. It's not 1-2-3-4 or 1-1-1-1 or my birthday. You'll have access to the music, that's it. I don't need the background to be changed to something from 'The Hunger Games' or whatever. I'll be back soon." He leans over to kiss Mindy on the forehead and awkwardly stands back up. "Uh, okay, bye."  _What the hell, Dan._

After Danny leaves, Mindy touches her forehead where he kissed her in slight disbelief.  _What the hell is happening to us?_  She gets up to use the bathroom, jumping slightly at her disheveled reflection."Oh god. He probably kissed me out of pity. Ughhhhh. I'm never eating sushi again unless there's no raw fish involved." Finishing her business, she washes her hand and attempts to make herself look more human but she gives up fairly quickly. "I'll probably only be going back to sleep anyway."

Mindy manages to grab a couple blankets and spare pillows and sets them on the couch in case Danny ends up staying the night, not that she has any expectations, she just wants him to be comfortable. She climbs back into bed, grabbing the pillow Danny was using and breathing in his scent.  _This is going to end badly._  Dozing off once again, the last words Mindy hears is from The National's "I Need My Girl."

 

_"Remember when you said I'm sorry_   
_To the vines and no one saw it_   
_I'll try to call you from the party_   
_It's full of punks and cannonballers_   
_I need my girl_   
_I need my girl"_

* * *

"Ugh, who the hell is calling me? Don't they know I'm sick?" Mindy moves her hands beneath duvets and pillows, trying to find her phone. "Hello?"

"Mindy, are you asleep? The rehearsal dinner starts in a few hours and the dry cleaners close in an hour and I'm pretty sure you haven't picked up your tux for tomorrow yet."

"Danny?"

"Of course it's me! Hurry up or I'm kicking you out of the wedding and finding a new best man and not a best woman this time."

Disoriented Mindy sits up, her head pounding from the confusion and being awoken so suddenly. "What wedding?"

"Haha, very funny. My wedding! I'll see you soon, yeah?" The call ends.

Mindy continues to hold the phone to her ear and stares off into space, trying to ignore the feeling growing inside her chest. "What? Danny's getting married? And I'm the best man?"


	3. Chapter 3

Mindy finally pulls the phone away from her ear, gazing at the dark screen and confused about what was going on. She pushes a button on her phone and sees that it's April, not January.  _God that was one hell of a dream. Danny's right, I barely have enough time to go and get dressed, grab the dry cleaning, come back, and then head off to the dinner. I just had to take a nap after the rehearsal from earlier but after working so much this last week I was just exhausted._

The phone beeps, a message from Danny:

**_GET UP_ **

"Alright, alright. I'm getting up already. Sheesh. You'd think it was our wedding the way he was rushing me." Mindy pauses, remembering the dream of Danny kissing her forehead and taking care of her while she was sick. "It's not trying to tell me something is it? Whatever. I don't have time for that."

* * *

"Mindy!"

"Hey, Richie. Where's your brother? I don't want him to get mad at me for being a few minutes late but traffic was killer." Mindy hugs Danny's younger brother, then steps back to admire his tan, letting out a low whistle. "Dang, son. I'm going to have to go to Florida with you so I can keep some color going. You're looking good."

"Thanks, and you know you're welcome anytime. Danny should be somewhere talking with Liz's family or something. I'm just glad someone I know and like is here finally." Richie sees the confused look on Mindy's face and continues, steering her towards the restaurant's bar. "Ma's a little sick right now and didn't want to risk coming out and getting sicker. Don't worry, Danny says it's just allergies and after a Benedryl induced sleep coma she'll wake up just fine for the wedding tomorrow. There are some random cousins floating around but you I like much better. What would you like to drink?"

Still feeling a little groggy from her rudely awakened nap, Mindy decides some water would be her best bet for right now. Once they have their drinks in hand, Mindy and Richie walk around the room, making conversation with some of the guests, before settling on a table towards the back of the main dining area.

"I can't believe he's getting married tomorrow. I remember how much we didn't get along when I first joined the practice and now I'm his best woman. Funny how time flies."

Richie stares at Mindy for a beat before taking a sip of his drink. "I remember how much you annoyed him at first. I had just started college so he would call or email me all the time, checking up on me and stuff a big brother would do, and he always mentioned something you had done to piss him off that day." He shakes his head before continuing. "I'll never forget the time he called and said he was wrong about you."

"Really?" Mindy asks, surprised. "I'm not even sure when we started being friends. I kept trying to get him to like me but he was always so grumpy. All of a sudden I stopped trying because we were friends. Just like that."

"It was when you told him that Eye Patch just didn't know him well enough. Dan was surprised that despite not putting in half as much as you were into the relationship, you were still able to find words to comfort him."

Mindy shrugs. "It's not like I had to struggle to tell him he's a good guy. Except for his still awful taste in music, he's an amazing catch for any woman."

Danny's younger brother takes the time to look at Mindy again, his dark eyebrows stitched together in concentration. "Why did you never date him then?"

"Ex-squeeze me?!" Mindy splutters into her drink, grateful she had chosen water and not her normal red wine or else she would have just ruined the hot pink blouse she was currently wearing. "Me and Danny are just friends. Always have been."

"Oh, please, Mindy. I think the only two people who couldn't see that you two weren't just friends were you and Danny. Even at Jeremy and Betsy's wedding you grabbed the bouquet and Danny walked away with the garter and you two just laughed it off." Richie pauses. "I always thought I was going to be the best man, you know."

"I'm sorry. I had no idea that Mr. Traditional was going to be untraditional and choose me."

"I thought I was going to be best man because you were going to be the bride."

Before Mindy can say anything, Danny and his bride to be come up to their table, thankfully putting an end to Richie's conversation, at least for now. "Danny! Liz! Hey you two! Excited for the big day?"

"It's a little over twelve hours away. I can't believe it!" Liz smiles, brushing her strawberry blonde bangs to the side.

"Did you pick up your tux?" Danny asks, getting straight to the point.

"Yes, I did. It's hanging on the back of my closest door awaiting for tomorrow and my heels are in their box right beneath the dry cleaning bag," rolling her eyes. "I can't believe you'd think I'd forget."

Danny takes a sip of his beer and points the bottle towards Mindy. "It's not that you would forget, Mindy, it's that you would run so behind the dry cleaners would have closed by the time you managed to get there. Anyway, what are you and my kid brother talking about that has you guys hiding back here?"

Mindy panics briefly, unable to imagine being honest and telling Danny and his fiancé that Richie was saying he always imagined the upcoming nuptials having a different bride, no matter how jokingly she could make the words come out. "Uh, we were, discussing Katy Perry's new single. I think she should have gone with a different one."

Richie flashes a huge smile towards the happy couple. "Yeah, yeah we were discussing Katy Perry," he chuckles. "Anyone want another drink?"

Deciding she will not be able to survive the evening without alcohol in her system, Mindy asks Richie to bring her back a glass of white wine. "You know what, Dan? A glass of white wine sounds really great. Think you could get me one too?" Liz asks. Danny kisses her on the cheek and the two brothers leave, heading towards the bar.

"So," Liz starts, sliding into the seat Richie vacated and smoothing imaginary wrinkles from her cream colored silk wrap dress. "Have your best man speech ready for tomorrow?"

"For the most part. It's kind of weird since I haven't known Danny as long as some people and so many of our stories are work related and I mean, who wants to hear office stories from an OB/GYN at a wedding, am I right? I think I might try to work in the road trip we took a couple years ago to go see The National. Let's just say I will never get in a car with him ever again," Mindy jokes.

Liz raises an eyebrow. "I don't remember Danny taking a road trip to go to a concert. Funny how he's never mentioned it."

"Really? Morgan and Peter were supposed to come with us but they both ended up with food poisoning the night before we left. Plus Morgan had already seen them before."

Shaking her head Liz gives Mindy an apologetic look. "Sorry, darling. It doesn't ring a bell to me."

"Eh, no matter. It'll make the speech a little more interesting if you don't know the story I suppose," Mindy says, waving her hand around a bit. "Anyway, I'll figure it out. I've already asked you about the wedding but how about the honeymoon? Italy is going to be really awesome huh?"

"Mhm, it'll be beautiful I'm sure." Liz puts her left elbow on the table, placing her hand by her chin and showing off her engagement ring. "Can I let you in on a little secret? As excited as I am for the wedding and the honeymoon, what I'm looking forward to is moving to California to start our life together. It shouldn't be that hard for Danny to find a job over there and I have my family's vineyard but above all we'll have each other so I know we'll be just fine."

Mindy is stunned silent.  _California? I hadn't heard anything of them moving. I thought she was happy here in New York._  "California, huh? I thought Danny hated anything from California. That's a bit of a surprise."

"Oh, did he not tell you? I thought you knew already, I'm sorry. I brought up the idea last month and while it took a little bit of poking and prodding, in the end he came around. We'll be leaving in a few weeks." Liz's green eyes watchfully search Mindy's face, waiting for a reaction but Mindy has dealt with enough shocks and surprises in her life to be able to mask her emotions well enough. The Castellano brothers come back with the wine and Liz chooses this moment to bid Richie and Mindy goodbye as they have other guests to attend to.

"I'll find you in a couple hours, alright? Don't leave without me, Mindy, I'm serious." Danny threatens before going off to catch up with Liz.

"Danny's spending the night with you then?" Richie asks.

"Yeah, said Liz is staying at his apartment tonight and he doesn't feel like going all the way to Staten only to come back in the morning. I feel like it should be the other way around but whatever." Attempting to be nonchalant Mindy takes a sip of her drink and casually goes "I can't believe they're moving to California."

"She told you before Danny did, huh?"

"That obvious?"

"Danny told me a couple weeks ago," Richie shrugs. "I thought he would have told you by now. Are you really going to be alright without him?"

Mindy knew the answer to the question and she was pretty sure Richie knew it as well.

"Listen," Richie starts, "Did I bother you with the earlier conversation? I didn't mean to if I did. I just thought you should know the truth that everyone expected this wedding to be different, not just me. Hell, when Ma heard Danny was getting married the first thing out of her mouth was 'Oh, Daniel, honey, I'm so glad you and that nice doctor finally got it right.' Our  _mother_ , Mindy." Seeing that Mindy shows no response to what he is saying being upsetting to her, he goes on. "If you don't have any feelings towards my brother other than friendly, platonic ones, then fine, ignore everything I've said. But if there's a chance there's something more, I don't want you to regret anything because you held back for any reason. I've been there," a sad look darkening Richie's eyes momentarily.

"You do know it's the night before the wedding, right?"

Richie's eyes light up excitedly. "I knew you had feelings!"

"Okay, first of all," Mindy says, holding up a finger, "I never said I had feelings. Secondly, even if I did or used to, it's a little too late for that because  _it's the night before the wedding_ ," she hisses.

"Fine. Before we go on with this conversation: do you or did you have feelings for my brother?"

Across the room Liz is hanging off Danny's arm while conversing with her bridal party. Mindy remembers the story of how they met and how excited Danny was to have met her. He was on the way to work one morning when the only seat left on the subway was next to this woman who was reading  _The Godfather_ , which naturally he had to ask her about. It was the most perfect meet-cute that there ever was and after that they only had perfect dates and perfect moments and now an upcoming perfect wedding to start off their perfect life.

"He was never interested in me."

"Mindy. That's not what I asked."

"If he was interested he would have done something by now."

"Mindy," Richie warns.

"Okay fine! Both! Did and do! There, are you happy?" Mindy's slight outburst grabs the attention of a gentleman passing by her and Richie. "No, not you sir, I don't know you, sorry, carry on now."

Richie sits back in his seat smugly. "I knew it. How long now?"

Taking a sip of her wine, Mindy shrugs. "Probably since we met. I know that when I've dated someone else or when Danny's dated someone that I can push those feelings aside but since he's never shown me that he was interested, I've never acted on them. Why waste time, you know? What? Stop staring at me, Richie!"

"For a pair of doctors you two are some of the most naïve people I have ever met. You know he called me drunk the night he had that dinner party with what's her name, Alexis? Alex? Anyway. He called me not because he had gotten into a fight with her and then broke up, but because you two had gotten into a fight that was mostly his fault. There are tons of other times that he's tried to make a move but you always had a boyfriend, or a fiancé, but I kept telling him he needed to at least be honest because he couldn't go on living like some sort of Jane Austen character."

As Mindy glances back towards the Liz and Danny, Richie takes the opportunity to continue. "I don't know what Danny sees in Liz. She's not a bad person but I just don't see what's so great about her."

"Well, that's because you're gay and not interested in women."

"Beside the point," Richie says dismissively. "I have never heard Danny talk about anyone the way that he talks about you. Don't get me wrong, it's not that he think you're perfect," he laughs at the pouty look on Mindy's face. "But he has never met another woman that he adores as much as she infuriates him. I'm not saying it would be easy, but I think it would be worth it."

"You are aware that you're trying to recreate 'My Best Friend's Wedding' right now? I even have a gay friend!" Mindy rubs her face. "There's nothing to do, Richie. Do you really expect me to confess my feelings and somehow Danny will cancel the wedding and we'll live happily ever after? What will probably happen is that if I say anything is that things will get awkward and then we won't even be friends and despite everything that has or hasn't happened I love having Danny as a best friend."

Richie throws his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I get it. Look, I'm sorry if I pushed the situation, I didn't mean it, honest. I just don't want either one of you to have any regrets and since Danny isn't going to do anything about it I thought that maybe you could and then the air will be clear and you could both get on with your lives."

The atmosphere in the room changes as the dinner is about to properly start instead of the mixing and mingling with the drinks that's been going on the last half hour or so. Richie stands up and offers his arm to Mindy, who downs the rest of the contents in her wine glass before getting up herself, pulling her black pencil skirt down towards her knees. As they walk toward the dinner tables Mindy whispers "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I'm pretty sure whatever chance I had is gone and I need to accept everything and just move on."

Squeezing her arm Richie whispers back "It's never too late, love."

* * *

"Thanks for letting me crash here tonight, Mindy. I didn't feel like traveling over half an hour to Ma's and coming back to the city tomorrow." Danny plops himself down on the couch. "You've redecorated? I guess it's been awhile since I've been here, huh?"

Mindy shrugs, kicking her heels off by the door before walking to the fridge for a bottle of water. "You've been busy and I haven't changed much. Just a few frames here and there. A new carpet. That's all. You want anything before I go change?"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks though."

She quickly changes into a baggy long sleeve shirt and a pair of pajama shorts and heads back into the living room, sitting on the opposite end of the couch from where Danny is.

"That's my shirt!"

"This," Mindy looks down at the Columbia shirt and then at Danny, "is your shirt? I thought it was leftover from Josh or Casey or something."

Danny's lopsided grin appears. "No I'm pretty sure that's my shirt. It's from that time you lost your bag and had to spend the night at my place. Well," his grin widening, "the first time you lost your bag and keys anyway."

"Okay, it was just a few times and why didn't you ever tell me your shirt was missing? I could have given it back to you."

"Because it's not that big a deal, Min. You look good in it, keep it. It's fine."

Hearing Danny use her nickname causes Mindy to look away, a small frown on her face. "I don't remember the last time you called me that."

"Really? I always call you Min, though." Mindy looks Danny's way and he realizes she must be right. "Has it really been that long? I'm sorry. I guess I've been a worse friend than I thought. Wedding planning takes a lot out of a person. But we still see each other at work. Then there was Jeremy and Betsy's wedding last year and our road trip."

"The road trip was two years ago."

"No way, it was last year. Your contact picture in my phone is the picture you made me take with you before we left. Your hair isn't much longer now than in that photo. It had to be last year."

"Uh, my hair is like four inches longer than in that photo, thank you. And thank you, biotin. It was definitely two years ago because you started dating Liz in the last year. Which by the way, she wasn't even aware we took that road trip together."

"What?" Danny asks, confused. "Of course she knows about the road trip. That same picture is on my fridge at home. The first time I made her dinner she saw it and asked if she had anything to worry about because the only other photos on there are of Ma and Richie. Well and the one Morgan snuck in the one time he watered my plants for me while we were on said road trip."

Richie's words from earlier flash through Mindy's mind, from how his mother thought Danny was marrying Mindy and the phone calls to Richie that would somehow end up being about Mindy. She had pictures of everyone all over her apartment but only family and Gwen made it onto the fridge. If Danny was in any way like her then their picture together must mean a great deal to him. "Oh, maybe I misunderstood her then. Danny, look!" she squeals, turning the volume up on the television. "'You've Got Mail' just started a little bit ago! Do you want popcorn?"

Danny groans. "Seriously? Don't you get tired of this movie?"

"Nope!" she replies cheerfully, popping the last syllable. "That would be like the Yankees tiring of baseball. Popcorn?" she repeats.

"I'll get it. You get comfortable and watch your movie, Min."

* * *

A little while later, during the pivotal café scene, Mindy turns to Danny, who is lying on the couch, their legs intertwined. He looks so peaceful watching the movie and she gets a funny little feeling in her stomach, recalling her and Richie's conversation from earlier. She nudges Danny's leg with her foot. "Hey, Danny?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever wish that was us?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder that this is the last chapter to the story and that the story is complete, even if I'm still debating on an epilogue. xo

"Do I wish what were us?"

Mindy nods towards the television. "That. Do you wish we were that?"

"Enemies? No, I don't wish we were enemies. Where is this coming from?"

"No, not enemies. But, uh, maybe, more?"  _This isn't going well at all. What the hell is wrong with you, Lahiri?! Why are you even doing this? And now of all times!_

Danny adjusts himself on the couch, sitting up to look at Mindy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I was just curious, you know?" Mindy sits up herself, looking away at Danny and towards the screen that's playing a trailer for some upcoming action movie. "We've been friends for so long and not once did anything happen between us. I mean, Jeremy and I went into the friends with benefits stage without being much of friends at all," she laughs nervously, forcing herself to look at Danny.

"What exactly are you asking?"

"Why did we never go out?"

There's a noticeable shift in the air and it worries Mindy. She agrees that Richie was right and while she doesn't want to stop the wedding, though she does have an uncanny ability to ruin weddings no matter how hard she tries not to (except for Jeremy and Betsy's wedding, that was all Morgan), she also knows that she doesn't want to regret holding back her feelings any longer.

"Why did," Danny motions towards Mindy and then to himself, "you and me never go out?"

Mindy nods softly. "Yeah."

Danny lets out a huff of air. "Wow, this is a surprise. Honestly I expected this conversation to happen years ago."

"Really? Why?"

The small smile on Danny's face doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Because I thought it would have been obvious to you. At least, back then."

"Back then?" Now it was Mindy's turn to be confused at what Danny was telling her. "What do you mean?"

"It shouldn't really surprise me, you have always been a bit oblivious to things right in front of you. I always tried to do something to get your attention but you never bit. Man, there were so many times that I can't believe you really didn't realize it."

"Like when?!"

"I mean, there was that one night at the club when I asked you to get a drink with me. Then there was the Christmas I was your Secret Santa. Hell, there was even the road trip when I started singing to you at the concert but you thought I was just messing with you." He pauses. "Do you remember the song?"

Of course she did. She sometimes listened to it when she was feeling melancholic and silly. "'I Need My Girl' right?"

Danny smiles sadly. "And then there was Jeremy and Betsy's wedding. I asked you to dance but you just kind of ignored me. I couldn't wait forever, Min. At some point I decided that if everything I did was going unnoticed by you that I should take it as a sign to move on."

Mindy isn't sure how to handle this new information she's been given. Not once did she ever think that Danny's actions meant anything more than being a friend, in fact she thought that all she had with him was a strict friendship which is why she never pressed for anything more but had she known that it was actually him trying to woo her then she would have accepted it and who knows what would have happened then.

"I didn't ignore you, Danny. I would never ignore you. I don't even remember you asking me to dance because I would have said yes. I always would have said yes. Maybe I just didn't hear you," Mindy says, frustrated. "Was there food involved?"

He cracks a genuine smile. "Not that time. You were talking to Betsy about the honeymoon and something about pearls I think."

Mindy thinks hard, trying to remember the conversation that took place a year ago. "It was La Perla. I had gotten her lingerie as her bridal shower gift and I was wondering if she packed it or if she was still worrying about, you know what, that's not important. I honestly didn't hear you. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he shrugs. "I'm just saying, the signs were there but you never gave me anything more so I figured you were never interested in being anything but friends. I'm alright with being friends now, I promise."

_But I'm not._  "If you're so alright with being friends then why didn't you tell me you were moving to California after your honeymoon?"

Groaning Danny rubs both his hands over his face. "Was it Richie? Is that what you two were scheming about all night? I'm going to kill him-"

Mindy shakes her head. "It was Liz when you and Richie were getting drinks. But does it matter? Were you really just going to up and leave without telling me anything, Danny?" Her voice rises as she gets more and more frustrated. "I'm going to be your best man and you couldn't even tell me you're moving to across the country? Am I the last to know or did you forget to tell your mailman?"

"Woman," he clarifies, "you're my best woman, Min. You always have been and you always will be and that's why I couldn't tell you. I didn't want to see you upset so I figured I would make it as painless as possible for you. I thought it could be like a band-aid, short-lived pain and then it would be over. I knew you would hate it and would try to convince me to stay and I couldn't have that."

"You have your family and a life here in New York, Danny! Of course I would try and convince you to stay! And you know what, for the record, ripping a band-aid off is pretty damn painful!"

"Don't you get it, Mindy?" Danny says, standing up angrily, unable to control his emotions any longer. "Not saying goodbye wasn't just for you but for me too! I knew you would try to get me to stay and I also knew that if I gave you even just two seconds to say your argument that I would stay. Do you understand what I'm telling you?  _I would have chosen you over the woman I asked to marry_. I can't keep choosing someone who never wanted me." He relaxes and his shoulders slump, defeated. "I made you my best woman because that's what you are and I figured with what I had planned that you deserved at least that much…but if I said goodbye I knew I would never leave."

For once in her life Mindy has no idea what to do or say or even where to start because it's not like Danny to be so honest and upfront about his emotions.  _This wasn't what I was expecting to happen at all._

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." Danny sits back down on the couch and reaches his hand for Mindy's before pulling it back uncertainly. "Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I just wanted it to be easy on the two of us. You're living your life and it's time to live mine, you know?"

She feels her throat tightening up and the burning sensation of tears starting behind her eyes. She looks at Danny, unable to read his face except for the concern written in his eyes. Even after all this and everything they had been through leading up to this moment she knew that Danny only ever cared about her but she had been too blind to see it until it was too late. "Yeah, of course. I'm sorry, too. I sure know some great conversation starters huh? No wonder I'm always a hit at weddings."  _Ouch._  Mindy clears her throat, discreetly rubbing at her eyes. "Well, the movie's almost done and it's getting late so I think I'm going to head to bed now. Big day tomorrow and all and it's going to take some time to get my hair the way I want it to be. I'm thinking deep side part and some waves?" Mindy gets up from the couch and Danny jumps up as well and they both stand awkwardly facing the other.

"Make yourself at home, okay? Mi casa es su casa or whatever. I'll see you in the morning."

"You, uh, you sure you don't want to see the end of the movie? There's only a few minutes left."

"Nah, I've seen it enough times to know what happens. I'll be fine." Mindy says, waving him off.

Danny searches her face for a moment, trying to see if she really will be fine. "Night, Min." He reaches for her, pulling her into a hug, and feels her tense up slightly. "You'll always be the best woman and tomorrow when you're by my side I will be the luckiest man in the city," he finishes, kissing the top of her head.

Mindy smiles and nods, heading to her bedroom as quickly as she can without letting him see the tears she's holding back and that there's approximately 2.3 seconds until the dam bursts. She closes her doors, not even bothering to turn the light on her nightstand on, and crawls into bed, pulling the covers tight over her. She'll be okay one day but for now she doesn't even want to pretend she is. Mindy feels the hot tears pouring from her eyes and clamps a hand over her mouth to make sure Danny doesn't hear her.  _He shouldn't have to worry about me anymore._

* * *

Waking up to a silent and dark room Mindy realizes that she's still crying, her heart is in overdrive, beating so fast it causes an ache in her chest. She looks at her table and sees no tablet, no sign of Danny. "No, no, no. This cannot be happening. Some dreams feel real but that couldn't have been real. No way. Where the hell is my phone?" Using one hand to wipe her face she uses the other to search her phone and immediately unlocks it, finding Danny's number and calling it. "Please pick up the phone, Danny. Please," she begs, unsuccessfully fighting back tears.

The doors to her bedroom fly open and Danny rushes in. "Min? You okay? What's wrong?" He sees her crying and climbs into bed, putting his arms around her. "Hey, relax. Talk to me."

"You were getting married," Mindy chokes out, trying to stop crying and take a few deep breaths. Danny patiently waits, letting her take her time and wiping a few stray tears off her cheeks. "You were getting married and moving to California. You were going to leave me, Danny, and then I woke up and you weren't here."

He holds her and kisses the top of her head. Mindy tries to fight the horrible sense of déjà vu that's going on and pulls away. "It was just a bad dream, Min. I promise. I came back and found you asleep and I didn't want to disturb you so I grabbed my stuff and went into the living room. I don't think I was even back ten minutes before you called."

Mindy shakily inhales, her breathing becoming even slowly but surely. "So you're not getting married?"

"I'm not getting married," he smiles. "And California? Could Dream Danny be any more awful?"

"No, Dream Danny was perfect, he was just like you."

"Wow. Maybe you should get food poisoning more often," Danny jokes.

"I'm serious." Mindy looks down at her hands, fiddling with the hem of her shirt and avoiding Danny's gaze. "You're a great guy. Anyone would be lucky to have you." She takes a deep breath and looks up to meet Danny's brown eyes. "Maybe even me."

"You do have me, always have."

"I'm not talking about just being friends, Danny."

"Min-" Danny tries to interrupt.

"No, let me finish or I'll probably never get the nerve to try again. I don't want to just be friends if there's the chance of there being more between us and I don't want to miss out on what could be something absolutely incredible. I don't want it to be a year, two years, or even ten years in the future and wonder what if just because I was too scared to say anything. If you don't feel the same then that's okay and while it would make things really awkward between us, and oh my God I can only imagine how weird it would be at work and then you might have to find a new practice if it gets really bad but anyway, back to what I was saying, you can always just blame my food poisoning and we'll leave it at that and be friends. Remember when I asked you if you wished that was us when we were watching 'You've Got Mail' in the lounge? I wish that was us, Danny. I really wish that was us."

"Are you done?" Danny asks patiently.

"Oh my god. This is when you tell me we're better off as friends isn't it?"

"Can you be quiet for a few seconds and listen to me, Mindy?"

Mindy nods slowly, dreading what Danny has to say and wishing she still felt as poorly as she did at work so she could use running to the bathroom as an excuse to interrupt the conversation. Eventually she would have to face Danny but maybe she could hide out long enough and he would leave, which would give her enough time to think about fixing everything she had just ruined.

"I told you then and I'll tell you again, I don't want that. I don't wish that was us."

Feeling her heart simultaneously break and drop in a million pieces, Mindy tries her best to save face and starts to get up from the bed but is cut short by Danny who stops her.

"Will you hear me out? I don't wish that was us because I like our story much better than something that's made up." With that Danny leans over, cups the side of Mindy's face, and gives her a gentle kiss. He pulls away, rubbing his thumb over her cheek and intently stares at her, waiting for her reaction.

"You couldn't have let me brush my teeth before that? Or my hair?" Mindy asks breathlessly.

Danny smiles that lopsided grin that makes her heart flip. "Nah," he shrugs. "It seemed like the right moment. I told you, I'm a realistic romantic. You might not see it but you're beautiful, even when you're sick and in ratty shirts."

"Okay, well, if there is going to be more kissing in our future, which I really sincerely hope there is, I am going to go brush my teeth." She gets up and walks towards the bathroom, stopping at the door to turn around and looks at Danny, who is still smiling. "Hey."

"Yeah, Min?"

"I like our story better, too."


End file.
